ISLAMABAD: The Pakis­tan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) has advised television channels to produce sensible morning shows and at the same time observed that producers and directors have limited ideas.

“The concepts and ideas focus on matrimonial issues, wedding, dances, fashion, private lives,” the regulator said in its advisory issued on Wednesday.

Pemra said that in order to lend variety to viewers, it had approved licences to TV channels in various genres.

“The objective was to provide quality content to viewers in consonance with our social, cultural and religious values as well as Pemra laws.

“But over the years the standard of content in entertainment genre has deteriorated, specially in morning shows being aired on almost every satellite TV channel,” the statement said.

Pemra has been receiving complaints from viewers about the content being shown during morning shows while standing committees of Senate and the National Assembly have been critical too, the statement added.

“The public at large is very perturbed about the topics and themes of morning shows as these target only a particular socio-economic class, inflicting inferiority complex among the masses.”

Channels have to keep in mind social, cultural, religious and ethical values of our society as well as provisions of the Electronic Media (programmes & advertisements) Code of Conduct, 2015 and Pemra laws, the regulator said.

It called upon television channels to appoint “efficient persons” to oversee production of programmes as laid down in Clause 17 of Code of Conduct, 2015.

The regulator also advised channels to install time-delay mechanism so that inappropriate content could be censored during live shows.

Published in Dawn, January 3rd, 2019